Zacchaeus

Forgiveness rooted in blessing

Jonah

“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.”

Jonah 2:8

Psalm 63

Psalm 63
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Roots and Fruits

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Speech/actions

1 John 3:18

18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Outline Themes of 1John

5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

1. God in the flesh=Jesus Christ

2. Jesus Christ defines love in His Cross-work. 

3. Christian identity is expressed in the same standard of love as Jesus.

4. There is no room for habitual sinning, so remember that...

5. Sinning is outdone/covered by Jesus’ sacrifice, so Christians regularly cling to this.

Idols=remaking God in our preferred image.  

Keeping a true image of God=sticking closely to 1-5.